UPDATE: Prosecutors charge coach Frazier

The Manatee High School assistant football coach faces seven counts of first degree misdemeanor battery and three counts of interfering with attendance of a student.

CHRIS ANDERSON KATY BERGEN

By CHRIS ANDERSON and KATY BERGENStaff Writers

MANATEE COUNTY — Prosecutors on Friday charged Manatee High School assistant football coach Rod Frazier with inappropriately touching seven different females — including three school employees — over a span of more than seven years.

Frazier also was charged with interfering with the school attendance of three female students. Altogether, court records show, Frazier faces 10 counts, all misdemeanors.

A former football star at Manatee High and a starter at the University of Florida, Frazier has been on paid leave since Feb. 8. In addition to coaching running backs for the Hurricanes, he is a parent liaison at the school.

The first charge against Frazier dates back to Aug. 1, 2006, and the most recent, Dec. 14, 2012 — a month after district officials briefly investigated Frazier. That inquiry was shut down after one day.

“The Manatee School District knowingly put a predator back on the school campus with total disregard for the safety of students,” said the mother of a former student who says Frazier groped her and asked for nude photos.

Frazier, 35, through his attorney Ed Mulock, has denied any wrongdoing. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 8, but has not been arrested.

Mulock criticized the media for blowing the case out of proportion.

“It’s just a bunch of misdemeanors, like a barroom brawl,” Mulock said. “You’d think he raped all these girls.”

Manatee High football coach Joe Kinnan was out of state Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Prosecutors are still trying to decide whether to press charges against four school administrators who police say tried to cover up the allegations against Frazier.

The district’s inquiry was led by former school investigator Debra Horne, who police have recommended be charged with failure to report child abuse, a felony, and lying to police, a misdemeanor.

Bradenton Police have recommended the same charges for former Assistant Superintendent Bob Gagnon, previously the principal of Manatee High; and assistant principals Gregg Faller and Matthew Kane, both of whom supervised Frazier.

The police investigation of Frazier and the others was prompted by a Herald-Tribune story on Feb. 7 about the district’s inquiry.

Both law enforcement and the Florida Department of Children and Families said no one from the district had called to report a suspicion of child abuse, as required by law.

On Nov. 15, the school district removed Frazier from school property for one day while Horne spoke to at least six school employees about reports of misconduct with female students.

That same day, Frazier was put on administrative leave and told to avoid school property and contact with students. But he returned to campus the next day and that night coached the Hurricanes’ football team in a playoff game.

Quitting in disgust

In January, Horne interviewed a student and her mother after the student said Frazier had groped, texted and harassed her in a letter given to Manatee High Principal Don Sauer.

Horne abruptly transferred to a new role as assistant principal of Prine Elementary on Jan. 28, and Assistant Superintendent Scott Martin took over the case. Still law enforcement was not called.

The district investigation stalled when police began investigating allegations on Feb. 8, the same day Frazier was put on leave. On April 2, after an inquiry that included interviews with more than 50 parents, students and teachers, the police recommended to the State Attorney’s Office that Frazier be charged.

On Friday, Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski said he could not comment because it is a criminal case.

Outside the investigation, the case stirred strong emotions in the school community here, particularly at Manatee High.

Christina Conley said she quit her job as a Manatee High guidance counselor in June, largely because of the message she felt the district had sent to students and their parents through its handling of the situation.

“School is the one place in the world where I feel you err on the side of kids,” Conley said. “What would you have thought if you were a kid? Would you ever go and report anything again?”

“That’s what we taught them: You have no voice.”

Superintendent Rick Mills, who started here in March, said he had been notified about the charges ahead of time. He plans to meet Monday with Martin, now a staff attorney, to discuss resuming the district’s investigation.

“I recognize that we have a system where people are innocent until proven guilty,” Mills said. “But we also have to consider as a school district how we are going to move forward.”

The district will likely resume its own investigation as the case enters the court system, Mills said.

He also said he had little information about the investigation into the other four employees who have been recommended for charges.

“I know nothing about the outcome,” Mills said. “All I know is that it is a week or two down the road.”

The mother of the girl who wrote the letter accusing Frazier of misconduct spoke Friday about the effect the investigation has had on her daughter. She said the girl, who transferred out of Manatee High, doesn’t go out and has withdrawn from the family.

“I can’t get her to talk to me about it,” the mother said. “She’s just numb. She’s been like this for a couple of months now.”

The mother added: “There is some relief knowing some other family won’t have to go through what we’ve had to go through to get to this point. Nobody should have to go through this.”

EARLIER: Prosecutors on Friday officially charged Manatee High School assistant football coach Rod Frazier with seven counts of first degree misdemeanor battery after at least one girl said he groped her and asked her for nude photos.

He also has been charged with three counts of interfering with the attendance of a student, a second degree misdemeanor.

It is unclear at this time whether Frazier has been booked into jail or served with a warrant for his arrest.

Frazier, a former football star at Manatee and a starter at the University of Florida, has been on paid leave since Feb. 8. In addition to coaching running backs for the Hurricanes he is a parent liaison at the school.

Frazier, 35, through his attorney Ed Mulock, has previously denied any wrongdoing. An arraignment has been scheduled for Aug. 8.

The decision to charge Frazier follows a police investigation that was prompted by a Herald-Tribune story on Feb. 7 detailing complaints of misconduct made against Frazier that were quietly investigated by the school district.

Both law enforcement and the Florida Department of Children and Families said no one from the school district had called to report suspicion of child abuse, as required by law.

On Nov. 15, the Manatee County School District removed Frazier from school property for one day while former School District investigator Debra Horne spoke to at least six school employees about reports of misconduct with female students.

A day after Frazier was put on administrative leave and told to avoid school property and contact with students, he returned to campus and coached the Manatee High School Hurricanes' football game against St. Petersburg Northeast.

Horne later interviewed a student and her mother in early January after the student said Frazier groped, texted and harassed her in a letter given to Manatee High Principal Don Sauer.

Horne was transferred to assistant principal of Prine Elementary on Jan. 28, and Assistant Superintendent Scott Martin took on the case.

The district investigation stalled, however, when police began investigating allegations on Feb. 8, the same day Frazier was put on leave. After an inquiry that included interviews with more than 50 parents, students and teachers, the police recommended to the State Attorney's Office on April 2 that Frazier be charged.

They also recommended felony charges of non-reporting child abuse for former Assistant Superintendent Bob Gagnon, previously the principal of Manatee High; assistant principals Gregg Faller and Matthew Kane, both of whom supervised Frazier; and Horne.

All four individuals have also been accused of lying to police. It is not yet clear when or if the state intends to charge them.

Superintendent Rick Mills said he had been notified about the charges ahead of time.“We are going to assess the whole process of this,” Superintendent Rick Mills. “There may be implications for us resuming our investigations.”

He had little information about other Manatee Schools employees that have been recommended for charges.

“I know nothing about the outcome,” Mills said. “All I know is that is a week or two down the road.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.